The Huguenots in Later Stuart Britain – Volume II –– Settlement, Churches, and the Role of London

Volume two of a three volume set, The Huguenots in Later Stuart Britain examines the history of the French communities in Britain from the Civil War, which plunged them into turmoil, to the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, after which there was no realistic possibility that the Huguenots would be readmitted to France. There is a particular focus on the decades of the 1680s and 1690s, at once the most complex, the most crucial, and the most challenging alike for the refugees themselves and for subsequent historians. This volume explains when refugees fled France, and what drove them to settle in some regions of Britain but not others. Recent scholarship has lowered former estimates of refugee numbers across Europe, but a careful analysis of the available evidence suggests that for Britain, previous estimates remain robust. European historians have accepted too uncritically Pierre Bayle's assertion that the Netherlands were the great ark of the refugees. While Bayle's remark was true enough when the Edict of Nantes was revoked in 1685, by 1700 England had emerged as the most significant refugee center. In particular, London came to house by far the largest Huguenot community in exile, and the reasons for the capital's huge appeal are examined. Included appendices analyze the French churches in England between 1640 and 1713, and list known lay officers of the French congregations. [Subject: History, English & French History, Huguenots, Religious Studies]